InFAMOUS: A Second Chance
by Omniwriter1234
Summary: At death's door, Cole MacGrath makes a choice to take it all back. To take himself back to the day that changed his life to save the world, to save the city he doomed, and...to save the woman he loves.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not claim to or make any attempt to claim to own any recognizable or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction in any way, shape, or form and I am not attempting to or making a profit from this work of fiction in any way, shape, or form. All recognizable or licensed material belongs to its respective owners in every way, shape, or form in accordance to the law said owners are bound by.

AN: Well, I'm surprised I haven't seen something like this before. I've browsed the InFAMOUS section for a minute and didn't find anything like this so I hope you enjoy this. Depending on feedback I'll either make it into a story or scrap it.

Enjoy!

* * *

Sometimes it was hard to think it was even worth it.

I had brought the Beast down in seconds and it was kind of anticlimactic when I look at it. This guy had been a major pain in my ass ever since Kessler showed me his visions of him and I took him down in about ten seconds, tops. If I could have done that then why couldn't Kessler? He had to be stronger than me, had his powers for what seemed like decades, and he could travel in time, something I still couldn't do despite the Blast Cores supercharging more powers.

But was it really worth it, was any of this worth it at all?

Hell, Nix was dead, Zeke was dying of the plague, and Kuo had only just changed her mind at the last minute and was urging me to fire off the RFI. And I'm not even talking about John yet, he turned out to be the Beast and the real kicker is that me, the guy who's supposed to be saving the world from the Beast, made him when I destroyed the Ray Sphere back in Empire City. I thought for sure John was dead but it turned out getting killed by the Ray Sphere means a massive power boost for Conduits and I guess that means a major pain in my ass. And that was only one of the many choices I've made. One of them killed Trish.

Every choice I made was leading to this moment and sometimes it all felt so pointless when I figured out what the RFI would do. It would kill thousands of people, including me, but save so many others. The Plague would be gone but I wouldn't live to see it, fitting since I basically caused it, me and that bastard Kessler were a big part of this mess I'm in right now.

I guess it's pointless now but right now I'm thinking about what my parents would think of me now. Cole MacGrath, the Demon of Empire City! The Conduit Menace! The Hero of Empire City! Yeah, they still wouldn't give a damn even with all that and these powers. They still wouldn't care, I'm still nothing but a bike messenger to them and I always will be. Even now that I think about I don't even know if those two are even alive anymore. They could both be dead and with everything I've gone through I wouldn't know and in truth I couldn't even bother to care.

The fully charged RFI buzzing in my hands brings me back. I helped remind that that it's filled with my power and even now it's still increasing my power. It's brought me back to what I was before the Beast broke my powers before he destroyed Empire City, I can feel limitless energy flooding through my body and it's almost like a high. If I wasn't used to it I'll probably be out of my mind at the moment. I'm tempted to keep it, use it to supercharge my powers and just rip the Beast apart….

No, that's not right. I caused this mess and I've got to fix it, even if I'm not so sure the RFI will even work. Hell, Wolfe's dead and he never even fully explained what it could do to me, he just called it an anti-Ray Sphere. Yeah, you were real clear there Wolfe, real clear. Oh damn, look at me, I'm talking about a dead man now. I guess the stress of my life recently has finally gotten to me, I'm turning into a lunatic who talks to himself.

But know I'm getting off topic again, I have to focus on what's in front of me despite the mess my life turned out to be. I'm not even twenty-five and I've go the fate of the world on my shoulders, sucks to be me. The powers, a nice bonus to it all but half the time they mess things up. Sure I can do good with them but these powers took away my life and sometimes, after everything I've been through, I wish I hadn't been born, I made a lot of bad things happen even if I didn't know it and it's hard knowing that. I know, despite everything anyone says, that I made the Beast, I know that I caused the plague that's going to wipe out anything not a Conduit and even them, that I revealed Conduits to the world and started a new arms race, that I caused Empire City to get destroyed and a dozen others because I couldn't take down John when I had the chance.

The worse one by far is knowing that it was from what I did that killed the woman I loved, if I had never met her than maybe she would have survived. At least that's what I tell myself but I know I'm wrong, Empire City would have killed someone like her. She was too good for the twisted thing the blast turned the city into.

John's trying to get up now and I know the time has finally come, I've got to fire this thing off before he tries something else and the RFI gets wrecked even more. I empty all of my power into the thing then, I hold nothing back and I feel myself losing consciousness, everything slipping to black despite me trying to fight it. The RFI still isn't ready to fire through so I force myself to stay awake, force myself to keep pushing everything I have into the cure for the plague I caused.

I'm going to end what I began, I'm going to make it all right when this thing kills me when it goes off. The truth, I'm not upset at my death, I'm almost glad I can do one last good thing before I die, for the longest I thought some bullet to the back would finish me off but I guess I'm wrong.

Then, pain I knew was coming but still couldn't brace myself for engulfed me, lighting every single nerve I have on fire and this time it's not a question of fighting to stay conscious, the pain forces me to, dragging me from the blackness and into hell. In an instant, I'm engulfed in a blast of light, the RFI the source of it and sending it into the sky, it screaming through the air as it unleashes the cure for the plague, the salvation of every living thing on this planet.

I feel myself slipping away and, somehow, I can hear Kuo's body collapse as the RFI takes her. With Kuo dead, I know I'm next but even John falls before I do, the husk he created around himself crumbling and blowing away in the storm foe energy the RFI is unleashing. I hear John's body hit the ground next but I'm still alive, the RFI is still draining me of everything as it cures the plague around the world.

God, it's taking forever for the damn thing to off me, it just won't finish the job on me but it'll do it to every other Conduit. I can almost feel the Conduits at war in the city falling, dropping like flies as the RFI does it's job and gets rid of the Ray Field Energy that they need to live.

Finally I feel myself slipping as the RFI begins to stop, the light from it dimming as the iron grip I forced myself to hold on it isn't necessary any more. It slips through my fingers and I'm almost glad, the constant drain was getting to me and I'm sure would have killed me if I wasn't certain I was going to die.

I can already feel myself slipping away, the lack of Ray Field Energy making me unbelievably thirsty like when the power's down somewhere. My body suddenly is too heavy and I barely feel my knees hit the ground as my vision swims, the cathedral in front of me surprisingly comforting, almost as if it knows I'm dying and wants me to go peacefully.

"…." Someone shouts something but its hard to hear, everything muted by the roaring filling my ears, as if I'm in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"…." They shout again and I somehow, I don't have any idea how, manage to turn to face them.

It's Zeke, he's pushing through the crowd that somehow got around me when I fired off the RFI. He's crying, his sunglasses got lost somewhere but he doesn't care. I can't look up anymore by the time he reaches me and I'm falling, the darkness rushing to greet me.

"COLE!"

Somehow, somehow I manage to hear him as I fall and I manage to stop myself, using both hands as Zeke crouches down next to me, trying to drag me up but he can't, I'm just dead weight at this point.

"Zeke…don't bother…" I hardly manage to get the words out, my mouth like lead even as Zeke panics, shouting something about Blast Cores or Shards to get me up again.

"Come on Cole, don't talk like that! You're still alive dammit, that counts for something!" Zeke knows he's just making desperate pleas, he knows what me firing off the RFI did and knows it's hopeless.

"..take…ca…" Damn, I can't even talk anymore, I can't do anything as I fall to the ground, the darkness once again engulfing me without remorse.

I know death when I see it, I've seen it and dished it out enough to know exactly what it must feel like but it's still surprising. My suddenly too heavy body is gone, replaced by…nothing, nothing at all as I feel as if I'm slipping out of something bulky, something heavy.

Right then and there, I realize something.

I realize…

I…I…

I...I don't want to die.

I don't want to die yet, I don't want to leave my legacy like this. Dying because it was the only choice in fixing something I've caused. Something I could have avoided if I've had done something different, if I had…

Right then and there it clicks, it all comes together and I feel something inside me. I feel something that I've never felt before. And now, I've got a choice to make. I can feel myself slipping away more and more but I fight it, I fight it when I make my choice.

I make the choice to start over, to stop everything that happened when I opened that damn package.

I'm engulfed in a blinding flash of light, everything around me simply vanishing as my body vanishes with a bolt of lightning…no, that's not accurate at all, I turned into lighting itself. I feel myself slipping through what can only be called energy in its purest and rawest form and it strengthens me. It gives me more power, for the briefest second, than I thought possible and just as fast as it was there, it was gone.

I don't know what happened to anything else but I know what I just did. I know that I opened up something that I can't close, something I won't close. I've opened up the door to a new chance, a second chance to make it all right. To end the chaos I created before it started. I just traveled back in time, back to the day I set all of this in motion.

I traveled back to the day of the Blast.

* * *

AN: Well? How was it? Good? Bad? This was originally just a death oneshot but it got away from me and seeing that Kessler can travel in time I figured an RFI supercharged Cole could do the same.

Anyway, review if you want and, like I said up at the top, I'll either continue it or scrap it based on feedback.

Peace.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own and/or claim to own any recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction in any way, shape, and/or form. I am not attempting to and/or making a profit in any way, shape, and/or form from this work of fiction. Any and all recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction belongs to its respective owners in every way, shape, and/or form applicable to the law.

AN:...I have really nothing to say.

* * *

A storm covered Empire City, nothing weird even if it was a little sudden but nothing the people in the city weren't ready for, a few pulling out umbrellas and going about their business while others cursed for a minute at the bad luck before making do with hats or hoods. It was just another normal day in the city, nothing to be worried about as lightning bolts lit up the sky in a spectacular display as thunder boomed with building shaking force. All in all, it was a normal storm that anybody in the city got used to a while ago and learned to ignore it for the most part once they got inside.

Near the edge of the city, to anyone else, just another bolt of lightning struck but to one person, it was the start of a new day, a new life, a second chance.

AAARRRGGGHHHH! What the hell is happening!?

E..ev..it all hurt! SO FUCKING MUCH! It felt like a damn fire was ignited in ever part of me! It was worse than anything I've ever done from draining Blast Cores to when the Beast kicked my ass. It was nothing but raw electricity ripping through my insides and I couldn't do anything, it was like I didn't even have my powers anymore. Nothing but raw agony, pain in its purest form filling my body for what felt like forever before it all suddenly stopped, as quick as it was there it was suddenly gone and I was just glad it was finally over.

"Alright Cole, you got to get up. Get up and find out where you are." I can't believe I did it but I gave himself a pep talk, slowly getting to my feet after landing flat on my back.

"Okay, now where the hell am I?" I started to dust myself off only to realize it was pointless, after the hell I went through during the last few days in New Marias, I was lucky to even still have my clothes in good condition but now they were charred black and ruined after that last little bit of chaos I got myself into. My tracks pants were mostly okay, a few scorch marks here and there but my shirt was a lost cause, it was only hanging on by a few tatters running around my shoulders and up and down my stomach, and my back felt completely bare from the rain pelting it so the shirt was completely ruined.

It was a good thing I kept a few spare sets on me most of the time, that last day in New Marias no exception. I was glad my courier bag survived, slinging it off and onto the ground before I ripped away the remains of the rags I used to call a shirt, throwing it onto the ground before pulling out a fresh one, exactly the same and quickly pulling it on.

I muttered a few curses when I realized something, it was going to be impossible to hide the Amp so I'll have to leave it somewhere, something I really didn't want to depending on where the hell I ended up. I had gotten attached to the thing and it pulled my ass out of the fire more times than I could count, a lot too many. Leaving it was hard to do especially if I somehow screwed up and ended up when Empire City was a warzone, the whole point was to come back before all that.

Just then, I guess it all hit me, what I had done...everything I had lost after I had made The Jump, going back in time, hopefully, to fix the mess I made of the future. To stop all my failures before they could happen, to stop Kessler and his mad plans, and, most important of all, to stop the Beast, to stop him before he would kill countless people. I had to do something to stop it all or else me coming back would be pointless, I should have stayed in New Marias and just died if I couldn't change all of my mistakes or at least most of them. I wasn't going to let it all happen again if I could help it and that included Empire City.

I needed to save what I could, I needed to stop the city from becoming little more than a hell on earth where Alden, Sasha, and Kessler did whatever they wanted and no one did a damn thing to help the people inside it.

They only put us all in a cage, they just made empty promises on a cure and all too real threats. They planned to slaughter us like cattle, cull the sick from the herd.

It was my responsibility to fix what I caused and I would be damned if I couldn't do at least that. If I couldn't stop them, I could damn well at least fight them and make them pay for every life them and their thugs take, I could stop them from doing their best to burn Empire City to the ground over the Ray Sphere, especially Alden and Kessler. Those two were willing to do anything to get that piece of s-

I...I...DAMMIT!

Before I knew it, I was running, everything forgotten as I put everything I had into climbing to use, once again moving up and over the familiar and life filled buildings of Empire City, running with everything I had to get to him before it went off. I needed to stop all of this at the source and that was at what gave me my powers.

The Blast, the single thing I regretted most. Through The Blast I had done something, I opened a door that should have never been open, a door that should have stayed closed. I did something stupid that day and the worse thing was that it was for money. I killed countless people for money, I ruined lives, drove people mad, and created a city of chaos for money. I didn't think anything about it either, I just thought it may have been a prank but it wasn't. I opened up a fucking bomb and blew Empire City straight to hell! I opened that box and I turned Empire City into a special kind of hell. But the worst part, the absolute worst part of everything that happened after that...I liked it at least at first. I liked the fact I had powers, that I could do whatever I wanted and not a soul could stop me. Sure, Sasha had her Reapers, Alden had his Dust Men, and Kessler, the son of a bitch, had the Sons but I could and did crush them all. Especially the Sons, I went on the fucking warpath on them and I liked every single second of it. I liked frying the hell out of them, bringing them down one after the other, tearing down everything they worked on, destroying them like they destroyed my life! I'm not going to lie, I was nothing but happy when I beat the hell out of Kessler, when I left him broken on the ground after everything he did to me.

But that didn't change anything, that's why I tried my hardest to fix everything in New Marias because nothing I did in Empire City changed what was wrong. Sure, I could get rid of the gangs and help clean up the city but it wouldn't change the fact that I had caused The Blast in the first place, that I had been the one responsible for it all and I was the reason that so many people died, so many people got their lives destroyed. That I lost her...that I lost Trish

Goddamn I hate remembering it all. I hate remembering the faces of everyone from Empire City. I hate thinking about everyone I failed.

The worst part about this all through? I'm about to meet the son of a bitch who caused it all face to face and the worse thing about it is that it's me. The arrogant jackass who thought his new powers were fun, that he could just mess around with them instead of using them to fix his mistake. I'm about to meet that guy and it pisses me off just thinking about it.

When I find the old me, I'm kicking his ass for therapy it looked like.

Looks like during my little inner tirade I got into the city and I tried to remember the route I took on the day of The Blast. After everything went to hell, I must have forgotten it but I at least knew the destination.

I blaze through Archer Square, trying to ignore the memories trying to come to surface of my mind. Trying to ignore the Beast, when I failed to stop him and he destroyed Empire City. When he blew it st-SNAP OUT OF IT! FOCUS!

I need to speed up but I can't use my powers, that would only cause a panic so I've got to take it the slow way, running as fast as I can to get to the Historic District and save the city before Kessler can make his move and the entire place goes to hell. Thing is, I'm still pretty damn fast and in a few minutes I see what's going to become Ground Zero, I see myself on the phone, holding the box with the Ray Sphere like it's nothing but a normal package when it's so much more. The damn thing looks like it can fall out of my hands any moment and hit the ground, making it look like I wasn't holding something that can turn the world into a special kind of hell in an instant.

If I didn't know any better, it looks like I'm not even holding the key to The Blast, holding the key to my own personal little hell. If I look hard enough, I can make it look like just another one of the hundreds of packages I've run across the city for some quick cash. If I think hard enough I can imagine that the box isn't anything dangerous, it's not the reason people wanted to kill me or just use me. If I think about it hard enough...I can make myself into a damn fool.

I can't lie to myself, that box is the reason my life changed, for both the good and the bad and right now I want nothing more than to rip the damn thing out of my hands. I can't destroy it, I tried it once and the world actually got worse because of it, because I created the Beast and everything that came after it.

So, I can't destroy it and I know Kessler can blow it whenever he wants...What the hell am I going to even do with the damn thing if I can grab it?

You know what? Forget it. I just need to get it in my hands and I'll figure out something.

Come on! If I can just move fast-

You know, when things get so serious, when they start to go from bad to worse faster than you can imagine, it always happens in almost slow motion. It's like your mind wants to tease you with the thought of changing it all if you just mover faster, if you can push yourself harder. It's strange how I can see it all happen now, how it all seems to change so slowly, how it seems so easy to stop it all now.

I see myself shrug, my hand moving in what looks like slow motion towards the box I wish never existed. I see my fingers take less than a second to find a grip and I see my arm move back and my fingers tighten on the flaps, slowly pulling them up and out.

I have seconds, just seconds to try and change it all and I try dammit. I try.

I just can't stop it no matter what...I'm always going to be nothing but a failure because the gates of hell just opened up with a light show.

I don't scream when I see it, I don't start cursing or just lose my mind. I don't do anything like that, no, that won't change a damn thing and deep down inside I know it.

I just failed again. I can't save anyone know, they're all dead but I just need to change my priorities.

I've lost before, I know how it feels, how weak it makes me, how pathetic I look. All this power and I can't stop one thing? But, after everything that's happened to me, everything I've lost, everyone who's died for me or because of me, I learned to roll with the punches and then give some of my own back.

The Blast has happened, I can't change anything about that and I know it but that doesn't mean I just have to sit back and let it all happen again, let Empire City go to hell just because I wasn't fast enough, just because I wasn't strong enough.

Yeah, I lost. Big deal.

Now, now I've got to roll with it and then hit back.

The Blast washes over me then, the Ray Sphere killing hundreds if not thousands to jump start the powers of any Conduit unlucky to be close, people that are going to be buried under the bodies or rubble, whichever one it doesn't matter.

I never could really look at The Blast before now that I think about it but now I've got the chance. It's almost impossible to describe, the charge in the air, the force I know is destroying everything around me, everything is either being destroyed or thrown away by it. I never really experienced the Ray Sphere like this, being able to watch it at work, watch The Blast begin to recede and come back to it, leaving any Conduit nearby either horrified or unconscious.

Then I see it reach me.

My powers are activating, changing because of the Ray Sphere because even if it fries me, nearly kills me, it's not really hurting me. My powers are supercharged, too strong to be contained or controlled so their lashing out at everything around me, striking anything it can and I see it coming towards me.

Electricity doesn't hurt me through, I just drain it on impulse really and then I'm suddenly taking it all in. The lightning found a path and now its following it.

I can hear myself scream then, get a good idea on how painful it really was to activate my powers, I can guess how painful all that energy in me can be. I know it even. Especially in New Marias, when Kuo gave me a taste of her powers, feeling cold flood my veins just like I knew lightning flooded hers. Between cold and electricity, I'll take electricity through.

It's over then, I got lost in my thoughts it looks like. Anyway, I check my reserves and I'm a little surprised, I got a little boosted after siphoning off most of the electricity I (at least the dumbass I used to be) was releasing and now I'm just standing in Ground Zero. God I hate this place, two of the worst moments of my life happened here. One, was The Blast, it'll always be the worst moment of my life honestly, and then there was when I killed Kessler, when I took the son of a bitch down and then I learned everything about him. I learned how he was _helping _me, making me strong, making me ready, making me a weapon. I wasn't his weapon through, he knew it and I knew it, I was just a weapon primed and ready for the Beast.

When the Beast showed up I was ready for it. I was ready to throw everything I had at it, do anything I needed to do to bring it down because I didn't have anything left.

Trish was gone.

Zeke was as good as the same, whatever friendship we had was dead and buried.

The city wanted me dead and I agreed with them but not before I killed the Beast.

I had nothing left so I thew everything I had at it, I gave it everything I could.

And I failed, I couldn't finish the damn job even when it was the only thing I had left, I couldn't do anything right in the end. I couldn't save her, I couldn't even keep my best friend by my side.

Fucking failure.

I didn't kill the Beast, it nearly killed me and that was that. I failed so Kessler, and everything he did, everything he took from me, everything he put me through, was pointless so he failed too.

I don't know if I should be happy about that or pissed off. Frankly, I never want to know the answer to that question, I'll sleep a hell of a lot better if I never do.

I hear a groan then, someone was in pain and it takes me a moment to remember who it could be. I don't bring anyone with me when I come here and people sure as hell never show up if they don't have to, they give this place a wide ber-

I'm living in the past, my memories are getting to me.

I get them out of me head pretty quickly, almost a new record, and now I'm stuck looking down at the idiot I used to be. Thing is, I don't know what to do but then I see John drop into the crater, coughing and nearly falling on his ass and I make a choice.

The Ray Sphere is in my bag and I got me thrown over my shoulders and I'm out of Ground Zero in a second, scaling the nearest crumbling building before I can spot what I'm looking for.

Not a way out. I don't have one, never had one.

I'm looking for Zeke's place to drop off extra baggage.

It's a long way, even with my powers so I guess I've got time to think, prioritize my thoughts so I don't lose it.

One, I failed. Again. Pity party over, get my head back on straight and deal with my fuck up.

Two, I was hanging from my shoulders and I needed to drop me off at Zeke's, get him to Triss.

Three, three was actually really easy and I've done it a few times.

Against Kessler and his First Sons, Tate and his Dust Men, Sasha and her Reapers, and Jones after she threw her special kind of tantrum, the one that involves drones and bombs.

I did it too many times in New Marias with that son of a bitch Bertrand coming after me. Saving Kuo, anytime I wasn't careful in the city, when I figured out Zeke had the plague. When the Beast finally showed up.

Three is always easy for me because it was always simple.

I go to fucking war.

* * *

AN: Well...this took forever to get out and I apologize...sort of...kind of...almost. My updates schedule is literally random as all hell.

Anyway, this is the second chapter and with basically I massive part of it just torn out and changed in the end. Original plan and what was sitting unfinished for months: Cole stopped The Blast by draining the energy the Ray Sphere released. I did some research, thought about it, deleted it all and rewrote that bit. Also...really nothing else.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own and/or claim to own any recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction in any way, shape, and/or form. I am not attempting to and/or making a profit in any way, shape, and/or form from this work of fiction. Any and all recognizable and/or licensed material appearing in this work of fiction belongs to its respective owners in every way, shape, and/or form applicable to the law.

AN: Well, enjoy.

* * *

Alright Cole, time to take inventory. What went wrong today?

First, I'm sitting on some random building, down the street from Zeke's place just to keep an eye on them I guess. I can't camp out here, I've got things to do. The idiot I saved will be okay just like I was, I just needed time so he just needs time to get back on his feet. I should be long gone, taking down the Reapers before they can really dig in but...but I can't just leave.

Zeke is...well MY Zeke was my best friend and I loved Trish, goddamit, I loved MY Trish and I can't just leave them even if I know they'll be okay. I can't just leave them alone no matter what I may want to do.

For the life of me I can't understand why I saved that dumbass. I knew he would get out fine, I got out fine so he could too but I guess I needed to do something. I've got the Ray Sphere through so that's good. I can keep it safe since The Blast...goddammit I don't want to think about it. Make it simple, I got overcharged for a while. That's it.

Second, Empire City. I thought it was a slow descent from what Zeke told me, that people tried to hold on to some basic human decency for a while before they got hungry, before they got desperate. I'm an idiot. It took three hours before the city was engulfed in riots. No word from the police or the government meant the city had gone to hell to most people and no police meant they did whatever they wanted and more people joined them when no one said anything, nobody could say anything so they lost it.

I'm not surprised.

The Beast was the same, every time he got close to a city, people went wild and they lost it. New Marias wasn't the same because people honestly thought I could beat him, people thought I could save them even when nothing else could and I guess they were right. The Beast was done for the count when I made The Jump and fired off the RFI. Hopefully its dead or else I just killed...I just killed every-

SNAP OUT OF IT! Get your mind focused on what you need to do.

Third, and most important, right not at least, I'm feeling thirsty. Got to fix that and soon.

Anyway, I got a plan. I'll hang out in the Neon for a minute, get a few favors ready and then I'll be ready to head to the Warren. Tate is...Tate is insane and I can't let him have free reign over there as long as I can help it. I can bring him down before he does anything that really wrecks Empire City and I can at least make up for one failure, this one not in the past.

I failed to stop The Blast. I got over it so I need to end Tate before he can cause any more damage than he already has.

Huh, lucky for me he's made a nice little welcome sign with his giant ass tower. I guess I get to test a little theory of mine after all, one I thought up in New Marias with Zeke...

Oh hell yeah, I can't wait.

Eights days after The Blast, seven days post-Empire City Quarantine...

I don't know how the hell I got out of there in one piece, all I remember was some light or something engulfing me and then everything is blurry, like it was all a haze. Zeke says somebody just threw me through a window and left without saying a word.

Yeah, I call bullshit. I tried that once, turns out climbing and carrying someone isn't easy...especially when your hammered off your ass.

Trish was there through and thank God for women like her, she's the only reason I'm not in some hole at the moment. I was messed up bad in whatever happened, people are already starting to call it The Blast and say the place it happened at is Ground Zero, and I'm lucky Zeke called her once he realized how much he sucked ass at being a doctor. Sure, he's a good drinking buddy, he knows how to shoot, and a hell of a lot of other things but he doesn't know anything about first aid beyond the absolute basics. Trish nearly tore him a new one when she realized what he was doing, calling it a mash up of what he had seen in apocalypse movies and sheer, her own words right her, "Zeke's special brand of dumbassery, first class" so yeah, I'm lucky I survived as long as I did with just him.

Then weird things started to happen...very weird things.

It was just some random stuff at first, a little static shock every time I touched someone or something even a little bit conductive. We all thought it was normal, I was always dragging my feet the first few days I was out of bed. Then it started getting worse. I go to turn off the light and I'm lucky it doesn't explode when I pull the string and I've had a few close calls already. Next was trying to shower...

That's a real special kind of hell when your trying to shower and you end up shocking yourself the entire time.

We all tried to think it was just coincidence. The light? Zeke's DIY electrical job with the generators. The shower? Zeke's DIY job again. He really sucks as an electrician.

Then I shot a fucking lightning bolt from my hand and blew the TV to hell.

Yeah, not even Zeke's that bad of an electrician, his whole place would be on fire if he was. Luckily, we had a little bit of information to go one. The Blast.

Whatever it was, whatever caused it, it changed the survivors, they ended up with, I'm not kidding here, superpowers. Actually fucking superpowers. I heard whoever did it first dragged away an entire crate of supplies with one hand off of the back of a truck...after stopping it with his shoulder when it was going full speed down the streets.

Yeah, turns out I got a nice set of lightning powers from surviving...well whatever the hell happened.

Trish was freaked out at first with them but that was mainly because I joked around with them too much, before I nearly hit her with another bolt. Zeke put me through "training" later and we tested the limits of my new powers then. Turns out, it's both electricity and everything related to it, I got a bit of magnetism too, enough to throw cars if it came to it. Yeah, we practiced that one out in the parking lot and I think we scared the shit out of anyone who heard that thing blow so we bailed back inside long before anybody showed up. Anyway, besides that, I've got the bolts, which I think I can fire either as many as I want or I just don't get drained easy, I got an honest of god rocket I can fire off, some shockwave thing that I think works the same like the thing I used to lift the car, and I can drain electricity which, in Zeke's words, "makes me an the guy who licks a battery after getting an asskicking and get up like nothing happened". Zeke tested it by getting a few of his friends to beat the hell out of me and turns out he was right, I was ready to kick their ass after I drained enough electricity.

All of that took a few days, maybe a little less, and then we started planning, me, Zeke, and Trish. Empire City it got put under quarantine while I was in bed, the government drops in supplies that nobody ever gets because one of three things happen.

One, one of the gangs show up, take everything, and kills anyone in their way.

Two, people get to it first, tear it apart, and run off with anything they can get their hands on.

Or three, some guy with powers shows up and that almost never ends well.

Zeke's got a damn good stash here but it's not going to last forever, a few more weeks at best and Trish likes being prepared. I've got powers, I can get in there first and take what we need from a few, there's always a few daily all around the city, and leave the rest. Zeke thinks we should just take one who drop, it'll last us a long time but Triss doesn't like it, she says we'll be assholes if we horde that many supplies. Zeke's my friend and all but that's an asshole move and I'm with Trish...at least for now.

She wouldn't be coming with us and things...well things just happen when you head out. I'm not pulling any punches out there and Zeke knows it.

The only other thing we got to deal with is the gangs, they're all over the city and they want rent. Supplies like food, gas, guns, and, when you've got nothing else, you. Some of Zeke's friends got snatched off the street a few days ago and they never came back but he saw them from the roof, they're Reapers now and almost killed someone before I tested out how far I can fling one of my grenades. They ran _real _fast after those started coming down on their damn heads.

Supplies aren't our problem, the gangs are, at least the Reapers. Zeke's got a few friends around the city and they say on the radio that a gang popped up in each district of the city. The Neon, our place, is under control of the Reapers, the Historic is under control by...nobody really knows but they're definitely not a normal gang, too many guns and too many people who know how to use them too good, and the Warren is under control by an army of bums. Empire City definitely went to hell and quick.

Zeke actually worked something out through, got a plan to deal with the Reapers. I like his plan, it's short, simple, and to the point.

Step one, I head out.

Step two, raise hell, draw out the Reapers.

Step three, Zeke and his buddies kill them all.

We get control of the Neon and nobody tries anything after they see Zeke and his guys got someone with powers on their side.

Trish...Trish doesn't like it but she's willing to help, she helped Zeke set it all up in the end, told me where to draw the Reapers to so him and his guys can wipe them out but she's not picking up a gun anytime soon even if she's one of the best shots we have, her dad really liked taking her to shoot it looks like. She's happy to patch anybody up but that's it. In a way, I can understand, I'm not a killer but I'm not going to pretend that I won't kill one of those son of bitches if it comes down to saving any of the guys doing this with me but I won't like it but I'll be able to sleep at night. Trish, Trish really can't handle doing something like that and nothing me or Zeke says is going to change that anytime soon.

I really hope she never has to pick up a gun but...Ah fuck this, I'm getting off topic.

Anyway, we got a plan, we got the guns, and we're getting the guys, all that's left is for me to head out and draw the Reapers to the, Zeke named it, "Dunbar Deathtrap"...we're never letting him name anything again.

All joking aside, I got about an hour or so left before this all starts and I've got to head out and I'm a little worried. Nothing major, just...just nerves, I've got them before and I'll get them again but I'm ready. Those Reapers are about to learn not to hang around the Neon anymore once today's over with.

"Hey Cole! We're set!" Zeke's guys are ready for war it looks like, I forget sometimes my best friend is some apocalypse nut that had an armory in his house.

"Alright, I'm almost there." The Reapers have a bunch of outposts set up, really just a few pickup trucks lined up across the street. "Let's see how these guys like me."

"I hope they hate you."

"Me too."

This is going to start something, I can feel it. We're either going to win or we're going to lose. One way or another people are going to die today.

I'll make sure we're the ones standing at the end of it.

That's a promise.

* * *

AN: And the plot thickens...maybe.

(Read the following in DBZ narrator's voice)

What is Future Cole planning to do? Will he succeed or will he fail against the might of his foes? Will Cole be able to claim the Neon back from the Reapers? How long will it take for the next update?

Find out...whenever in the next chapter of Infamous: A Second Chance!

(AND outro...whatever music you want really)

Now time for replies:

Angerunleashed4doomsday-First off, that's an awesome name. Second, glad you liked it.

w1lliam-Yeah, its definitely going to be interesting how this many Coles can change the story.

Warren Sanders-I do try to keep things pretty clear.

Nishi-Half right there, it's Future Cole but not Kessler.

KuletXCore-Glad you like it even if I think calling this gold a bit of a stretch, there's way better stories out there than mine.

Olive-Ask and (even if really, really, really late) you shall receive.

Majora-Jedi-I have granted your request.


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